Associated Press stories, Page 2167
Late-night comics adjust to shows without an audienceVideo
Due to the new coronavirus, late-night comedians — Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Pete Buttigieg — are taking to the stage without the affirmation of adoring audiences. Wait a second. Pete Buttigieg? The former presidential candidate filled in for Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday night on ABC. It was prearranged, since Kimmel...
Boston Marathon postponed until Sept. 14 amid coronavirus concerns
BOSTON — Organizers of the Boston Marathon, the planet’s most celebrated footrace, are postponing the event until Sept. 14 because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced Friday. The Boston Athletic Association, which oversees the marathon, had held off deciding the fate of the April 20...
Masters postponed over coronavirus
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Augusta National on Friday postponed the Masters, another massive hit to the spring sports calendar by the coronavirus that already is responsible for the loss of March Madness and the delay of MLB’s Opening Day. So much for that annual rite of spring and the...
Trump administration: $1.3M for fast coronavirus test development
President Donald Trump’s administration announced Friday it is awarding $1.3 million to two companies trying to develop rapid covid-19 tests that could detect whether a person is positive for the new coronavirus within an hour. The Department of Health and Human Services said it is awarding $679,000 to DiaSorin Molecular,...
Big city, big worry: New Yorkers fret as bustling city slows as coronavirus spreads
NEW YORK — New Yorkers will awake Friday to find the coronavirus has left their famously bustling city with no Broadway, no basketball games, no big gatherings, and a populace unnerved by an ever-worsening crisis. A dizzying series of temporary coronavirus-related closures announced Thursday included some of the city’s cultural...
Spain orders 1st mandatory lockdown for 60,000 amid coronavirus pandemic
The Latest on the world’s coronavirus pandemic: Spain’s has ordered its first mandatory lockdown, confining over 60,000 people to four towns as infections for the new coronavirus increase sharply. The rise is straining health services and putting more pressure on the government to act faster to fight the pandemic. The...
Trudeau’s wife tests positive for new coronavirus
TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s wife has tested positive for the new coronavirus, his office announced Thursday night. It said Sophie Grégoire Trudeau was felling well and would remain in isolation. “The Prime Minister is in good health with no symptoms. As a precautionary measure and following the...
Coronavirus brings entertainment world to a standstill
NEW YORK — The entertainment industry prepared Thursday for an unprecedented shutdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, canceling upcoming movies, suspending all Broadway performances and scuttling concert tours until it’s safe to welcome crowds back. To accommodate calls for social distancing, Hollywood moved to pause the normal hum...
PGA Tour decides to scrap rest of Players Championship, next several eventsVideo
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The PGA Tour decided Thursday night to scrap the rest of The Players Championship and shut down its other tournaments for the next three weeks. Commissioner Jay Monahan said earlier Thursday there would be no fans at TPC Sawgrass for the final three rounds or...
Officials: U.S. strikes Iran-backed group that hit Iraq base
WASHINGTON — The U.S. launched airstrikes Thursday in Iraq, American officials said, targeting the Iranian-backed Shia militia members believed responsible for the rocket attack that killed and wounded American and British troops at a base north of Baghdad. One U.S. official said multiple strikes targeted Kataib Hezbollah weapons facilities inside...
U.S. surveillance powers set to temporarily expire
WASHINGTON — Three surveillance powers available to the U.S. government are set to temporarily expire Sunday after a trio of senators opposed a bipartisan House bill that would renew the authorities and impose new restrictions. The Senate will consider the House bill next week, but it is unclear if President...
NASCAR, IndyCar closed to fans this weekendVideo
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — IndyCar and NASCAR will race this weekend without spectators, the latest sports series affected by concerns over the covid-19 pandemic. IndyCar pushed forward with Sunday’s season-opening race after the mayor of St. Petersburg said Thursday fans would not be permitted to attend. Only essential personnel can...
Supercomputer helps in tracking East Africa locust outbreak
KAMPALA, Uganda — A supercomputer is boosting efforts in East Africa to control a locust outbreak that raises what the U.N. food agency calls “an unprecedented threat” to the region’s food security. The computer, a donation from Britain, uses satellite data to track locust swarms and predict their next destination....
Awkward moment: Trump and Irish PM skip the handshake
WASHINGTON — President Trump and Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar found themselves in an awkward moment: How do you a greet a fellow world leader in the midst of a global viral pandemic? The two made the mutual decision upon Varadkar’s arrival Thursday for the Irish leader’s annual visit to...
Disneyland closing for rest of month amid coronavirus fears
Disneyland has announced that it’s shutting down its California theme parks Saturday over concerns about the coronavirus outbreak. The company said in a statement Thursday that Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park will be closed through the end of the month though there have been no reported cases of...
Pentagon threatening retaliatory strike after attack in Iraq
WASHINGTON — U.S. military leaders Thursday threatened a retaliatory strike against Iranian-backed Shia militia in Iraq, saying they know who launched the rockets in Iraq that killed and wounded U.S. and coalition troops and the attackers will be held accountable. Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters at the Pentagon that...
Broadway shuts its doors over ongoing coronavirus concerns
NEW YORK — New York’s governor ordered all Broadway theaters to shut their doors in the face of ongoing coronavirus concerns, plunging into darkness one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions and causing turmoil in the run-up to the Tony Awards. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday banned gatherings of...
NCAA cancels men’s, women’s basketball tournaments
March Madness came to a screeching halt before a bracket could even be filled out. The NCAA canceled its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments Thursday because of the spread of coronavirus, putting an abrupt end to the season less than a month before champions were to be crowned. The unprecedented...
MLB cancels spring games, delays openers
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball is delaying the start of its season by at least two weeks because of the coronavirus outbreak and suspended the rest of its spring training game schedule. Opening day had been scheduled for March 26. Statement from Major League Baseball: pic.twitter.com/0bWS5VTRPu— MLB (@MLB) March...
PGA Tour to carry on without spectators for the next month
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The PGA Tour plans to keep playing, just without anyone watching from outside the ropes because of the coronavirus outbreak. Commissioner Jay Monahan said Thursday that fans will not be allowed at the final three days of The Players Championship or three other tournaments —...
Travel bans, market chaos: Dizzying reaction to coronavirus spread around the world
ROME — Sweeping travel bans cascaded around the globe Thursday, walling off countries and even entire continents, keeping people inside their homes, and slowing the engines of commerce to stem the coronavirus pandemic. Markets collapsed with the growing realization that there would be no fast end to the uncertainty. After...
‘Quiet Place 2’ and ‘Fast & Furious’ delayed, as Hollywood braces for shutdown
NEW YORK — The entertainment industry, a business predicated on drawing crowds in theaters, cinemas and concert venues, is bracing for possible shutdown in the coming weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic, potentially putting on pause the normal hum of TV productions, the bustle of red-carpet movie premieres and the...
Starbucks stores may go drive-thru only or limit seating because of coronavirus
Some Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada may become drive-thru only while others could limit the number of people allowed inside, the company said, one day after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of coronavirus a pandemic. “As a last resort, we will close a store if we...
Stock market endures biggest drop since crash of 1987
NEW YORK — The stock market had its biggest drop since the Black Monday crash of 1987 Thursday as fears of economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis deepened. The sell-off, which sent the Dow industrials down 10%, came despite supportive steps from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank....
March Madness: Conferences scrap tourneys; NCAAs in doubt
The most powerful conferences in college sports canceled their men’s basketball tournaments Thursday because of the coronavirus, putting in doubt this month’s NCAA Tournament — one of the biggest events on the American sports calendar. Within minutes of each other, the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern...
